“He always claims to have shot in ‘scope [before], but it’s not true.”

Is “2046” a sequel to his “In the Mood for Love” (2000)?

“No,” Wong said. ” ‘In the Mood for Love’ is a love story and ‘2046’ is a movie about love.”

The gorgeous “2046” was the subject of hot buzz even before it debuted at Cannes 2004.

The print arrived so late – and under police escort – that its Cannes screening had to be delayed.

After showing “2046” on the French Riviera, Wong went back into the editing room, reportedly reshooting some scenes.

The joke was that “2046” wouldn’t be ready until 2046.

Actually, it was ready at the end of 2004, when it opened in Asia. (Cine File first saw it last November in Tokyo, with Japanese subitles.)

Now “2046” – with an all-star Asian cast of Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Faye Wong – is ready for its U.S. theatrical debut, Aug. 5 in New York and Los Angeles.

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BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn is in a nostalgic mood.

Tomorrow, it will show”Goodbye, Dragon Inn” (2003), Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-ling’s teary drama about the final night of a beloved Taipei moviehouse that has seen better days.

It’s being teamed with “Music Palace” (2004), Eric Lin’s black-and-white short about the closing of the legendary moviehouse of the same name on the Bowery in New York’s Chinatown.

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James Sheldon, a friend of James Dean’s who directed him in two live TV dramas in the early 1950s, will be at Film Forum for tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. screening of the Dean-starrer “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955).

Sheldon will show clips from the two programs and talk about working with the cult actor, who died in a car crash 50 years ago.

Details: filmforum.org

V.A. Musetto is film editor of The Post. He can be e-mailed at vam@nypost.com